Building an Aviary?

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 6:25 pm

Hey, that's looking awesome!

I have a few suggestions. Have your dad make some small access doors in the bottom and top halves of the screen doors. That way you can just reach in those to replace water, seed, and do minor cleanup without having to enter the avairy and risk birds escaping. My brother just used some 1x2's for the framing, then attached the plexi or hardware cloth with screws and washers.

Are you planning to do anything with the back walls? If you want to protect the painted walls, I'd try those vinyl panels they use for shower stalls. They'd be eaiser to maintain I think.

bluefinch · Post by **bluefinch** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 11:13 pm

Looks nice!

KNG5 · Post by **KNG5** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 12:38 pm

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I got some linoleum to put on the floor. It kind of looks like stone. And I also got a jungle mural to put on the wall. Hopefully it'll look pretty neat. I still haven't been able to find any full spectrum lighting....where can you buy it at?

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 1:06 pm

I get my full spectrum lights at Wal-Mart. They are called Natural Sunshine.

KNG5 · Post by **KNG5** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 4:19 pm

Ok, so I can't use screen for sure? It's not the metal kind..it looks so much better than the hardware cloth, but of course I don't want to risk my birds' lives if it's dangerous.

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 6:33 pm

I know what you mean... it's the nylon mesh, not the ugly wire screen.
Either way, the mesh openings are not large enough. You'd risk your birds getting their nails hung up in it. They can easily break a leg or die struggling to get free.

I used the green vinyl hardware cloth and like the looks of it. I believe you can also get it in black. Or check out the black plastic netting they use to protect fruit trees from birds.

KNG5 · Post by **KNG5** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 9:36 pm

My dad got something..it's not hardware cloth, but it looks about the same. On the picture it's around a tree. So maybe it'll work. And I know what you mean about the screen. When I used to have parakeets, they would fly against the screen window and get stuck.

Does anyone know if a Cottonwood and a Bradford Pear would be safe for using in the aviary? As branches/perches?

Also, I'm thinking about buying a ZooMed Reptisun 5.0 UVB Fluorescent Bulb for the aviary. I'm not sure how many or what size yet. But doesn't it need to be in some sort of fixture or something? And would it be safe to put in the aviary, or would the birds land on it and burn themselves??

Post by **Sally** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 11:37 am

I would think either of those trees would be fine to use for perches. I cut branches off all kinds of trees, shrubs to use in my cages. All I do is wipe them off, or rinse them, and have never had a problem.

Don't know anything about the reptile bulb at all. Tammieb said she uses those Natural Sunshine bulbs at Walmart--you need full spectrum to get the correct type of light for birds. A member here, Vetbridge, converted an entire room to an aviary, and he hung what looks like a shop light with full spectrum bulbs. I wondered if he put mesh around them, or if he had a problem with birds landing on them. Actually, I use cheap shop lights from Walmart hung above my cages, and they would probably be too slick for birds to land on any hot parts. So you could install a 4' shop light right inside your aviary.

Maybe someone on here has used these shop lights inside an aviary and can tell us if they had a problem with birds getting the 'hot foot'?

Thalia · Post by **Thalia** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 11:44 am

the repti-sun are full spectrum which would be fine, use the fluorescent not the incandescant they won't get as hot. I would keep them on the outside of the cage just in cage

C A · Post by **C A** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 4:05 pm

Here is an informative site that explains how lighting affects birds and their health.
http://users.mis.net/~pthrush/lighting/index2.html
This article in particular answered some of my questions about reptile lights.
http://users.mis.net/~pthrush/lighting/spectrum.html

KNG5 · Post by **KNG5** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 3:59 pm

Here's a preview of the inside. It still needs lights, and the screen needs to be replaced, as well as adding some decorations. I bought a bird feeder to put in there, and the bird bath is for their water.

Post by **Hilary** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 11:00 pm

Wow! That's going to be lovely!

Thalia · Post by **Thalia** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 8:08 am

looks good! Is the wall paper washable?

KNG5 · Post by **KNG5** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 9:52 am

Well it said you could wipe it with water, but no cleaning agents. So probably not. Maybe we can cover it with something, though.

Post by **Sally** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 10:10 am

Is that an outdoor umbrella base holding your branch? I love that idea!